The NeverEnding Story (film)
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| The NeverEnding Story | |
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 US DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Wolfgang Petersen |
| Produced by | Bernd Eichinger Dieter Geissler |
| Written by | Michael Ende (novel) Wolfgang Petersen Herman Weigel |
| Starring | Noah Hathaway Barret Oliver Tami Stronach Patricia Hayes Sydney Bromley Gerald McRaney Moses Gunn |
| Music by | Klaus Doldinger Giorgio Moroder |
| Cinematography | Jost Vacano |
| Editing by | Jane Seitz |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | West Germany: April 6, 1984 United States: July 20, 1984 |
| Running time | 94 minutes (english version) 102 minutes (german version) |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$27,000,000 (est) |
| Followed by | The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The NeverEnding Story (German: Die unendliche Geschichte) is the 1984 film adaptation of the German fantasy novel by Michael Ende. The production was directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starred Barret Oliver as Bastian Balthazar Bux (named only "Bastian Bux" in the movie), Noah Hathaway as Atreyu, and Tami Stronach as The Childlike Empress.
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[edit] Plot summary
Bastian (Barret Oliver) is a young boy and a frequent daydreamer, much to the dismay of his father (Gerald McRaney). Bastian's mother died early in his youth; his father is now raising Bastian alone. On his way to school he is spotted by three bullies, who throw him in a dumpster in an alley. When he emerges from the container, the bullies chase him again and he hides in a bookstore. He meets an old man , Mr. Koreander, reading a book. When Bastian asks to read the book ("The Neverending Story"), the man replies that the book is "not safe." Ignoring his warnings, Bastian borrows the book when Mr. Koreander is distracted by a telephone call - he does, however, leave a note promising to return it. He then heads for school, only to realize he is late for class. He heads upstairs to the school's large, abandoned upper floor, where he starts to read the book.
The story of the book starts with fantastic creatures in the world of Fantasia discovering that a strange force called "The Nothing" is starting to take over their world and make things disappear. The group consists of Teeny Weeny and his racing snail, a Nighthob and his "stupid" bat, and a giant Rockbiter. They make their way to see the Empress of Fantasia at the Ivory Tower and ask her for help. Unfortunately, the Empress is deathly ill. The Empress has summoned a great warrior from a tribe of the Plains People named "Atreyu." Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) arrives, and is given a magical medallion called the Auryn, which acts as both a guide and a symbol of the Empress' authority in requesting assistance. Atreyu begins his journey with his horse, Artax.
The Nothing has summoned a wolf-vampire called the G'mork to kill Atreyu during his journey. Atreyu is trudging through the Swamps of Sadness in an effort to find Morla, a wise being who can assist him. On his way through the swamps, Artax is overcome by depression and sadness, and begins to sink to his doom. Artax drowns in the swamps, leaving Atreyu heartbroken and alone. He finds Morla, a giant turtle-like creature. After reading a description of Morla in the book, Bastian screams - a scream which is then heard quite clearly by both Morla and Atreyu, who look around the swamp in confusion.
Morla claims not to know how to help the Empress, but to know who would know: The Southern Oracle. Atreyu leaves Morla and continues through the swamps. He lets the sadness take him and starts to sink. The G'mork is nearly upon him at this point, but Atreyu escapes when a flying white creature swoops down from the sky and picks him up just before he passes out. Atreyu awakens and finds his life was saved by Falkor, a flying luckdragon who resembles a dragon but has a canine head. Falkor has flown Atreyu almost all of the way to the Southern Oracle. Falkor's caretakers - two old gnomes named Engywook and Urgl - give Atreyu advice on crossing the last lengths to the Southern Oracle.
Atreyu must first pass by the Sphinxes. Those who cross with fear at heart will be killed by the Sphinxes. He makes a mad dash for the other side and avoids the Sphinxes' attacks. He then trudges through a snowstorm to the Magic Mirror Gate, where he sees a true version of himself in the reflection - a version of himself designed to terrify him. When Atreyu looks into the mirror, he actually sees a young boy reading a book in a school.
Bastian reads this and realizes the book is describing himself. When Bastian continues reading, Atreyu walks into the mirror and crosses through. Finally, Atreyu reaches the Southern Oracle, whose two faces begin to crumble as they tell Atreyu what he must do: To save the Childlike Empress, he must give her a new name. The only person who can tell him this new name is a human child, who can only be found outside the boundaries of Fantasia. Atreyu runs back to Falkor, who then flies him around Fantasia looking for its boundaries so he can find a human child.
Unfortunately, after flying around for a while, they run straight into the Nothing. After being pounded and thrown about, Atreyu falls off Falkor and into the Sea of Possibilities where he loses the Auryn. He awakens on a beach with the Nothing not far away. Atreyu walks in sorrow to a stone garden not far away. He briefly encounters the Rockbiter, who reveals his friends were taken by the Nothing and decides he will be taken too. On the walls, Atreyu sees a pictoral story of himself, from his moments at the Ivory Tower to the present. Atreyu then meets the G'mork, who explains that he is the "servant of the power behind the Nothing." The G'mork does not recognize Atreyu, as he never saw the boy up close, and Atreyu is no longer wearing the Auryn. G'mork tells him that Fantasia is actually the dream world of human beings. Because thoughts and dreams have no boundaries, neither does Fantasia. The Nothing is a by-product of human apathy and despair, which "eat away" the dreams and goals of humanity. Only one brave young boy could have saved Fantasia - a warrior named Atreyu, whom G'mork lost after tracking him to the Swamps of Sadness. Atreyu reveals his identity and picks up a sharp slab of stone, challenging G'mork to a battle. G'mork charges Atreyu and slashes him, but is impaled on the stone. Back at the Sea of Possibilities, Falkor dives into the water and picks up the Auryn. Meanwhile, the Nothing comes down full force on the area and violently tears the world apart as Atreyu clings to a tree. Falkor arrives at the last moment and saves Atreyu with the Auryn.
Falkor and Atreyu are flying around the emptiness of space, as the rest of Fantasia is gone, leaving only an asteroid field. With the guide of the Auryn, they fly back to the Ivory Tower, which is the only intact structure left in the remains of Fantasia. Atreyu goes inside the tower and comes face to face with The Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach). The Empress tells him that he has not failed, and has indeed brought a human child with him. The Empress begins to tell of the human child, who escaped bullies in a bookstore, then accompanied Atreyu on his journey all along.
As Bastian reads the story of Atreyu's journey, he realizes the book is aware of his presence. The Empress reiterates that all Fantasia needs is for the human child to give her a new name. As the Nothing begins attacking the Ivory Tower, causing it to start falling apart, Atreyu is knocked out in the ensuing chaos, the Empress tearfully addresses Bastian by name in the book's text. Torn between his father's insistence that he must live in the real world and the Empress's plea, Bastian finally runs to the nearest open window, and screams the name "Moonchild" out into the night.
Bastian then appears standing with the Empress, who says that all of Fantasia was destroyed by The Nothing, whereas Bastian's bravery helped one grain of sand from the dream survive. With this one grain of sand, Bastian can rebuild the entire world through wishes and imagination. Bastian wishes for Fantasia's restoration, and for a ride on the back of Falkor. He flies over the land, finding all its citizens alive and well, including Atreyu and Artax. As he and Falkor fly into the city, they successfully scare the bullies from the beginning into falling in a pile of garbage and the other two into a dumpster.
[edit] Main Characters
- Bastian Balthazar Bux: A young boy with a large imagination. He takes the Neverending Story from Mr. Koreander's bookstore and reads it. He is soon revealed to be the key to save Fantasia.
- Atreyu: The main protagonist in the Neverending Story. Atreyu is from the Plains People, despite originating differently from the novel. He and his horse Artax are sent to search for a cure to the Empress' illness. He is protected by the Auryn.
- Childlike Empress: The ruler of Fantasia, the Empress has fallen deathly ill due to the presence of the Nothing. Atreyu is sent to find a cure for her.
- Falkor: A Luckdragon who saves Atreyu from the Gmork in the Swamps of Sadness and becomes his friend and companion. Falkor has a very upbeat and cheerful personality, even in the darkest of times.
- Gmork: A wolf-like monster who is the servant of the power of the Nothing, hunts Atreyu to prevent him from defeating it. He eventually meets Atreyu but is impaled by a sharp rock during their duel and dies.
- The Nothing: A dark mysterious force that is destroying Fantasia. It is made from the misery of those with no hopes and no dreams. The only way it can be destroyed is if the Empress receives a new name from an Earthling Child.
- Mr. Koreander: The librarian who Bastian meets. He forbids Bastian from taking the Neverending Story (knowing he will). Bastian takes it anyway, and Koreander smiles. Bastian leaves a written promise that he will return the book.
- The Rockbiter: A large, friendly giant, seemingly made of stone. He loves eating rocks (particularly limestone), and becomes a companion to Teeny Weeny and the Nighthob. Toward the end, he fails to save them from the Nothing and waits to be taken as well. His name, in the original book, is Pyornkrachzark.
- Teeny Weeny and the Nighthob: A pair of travellers along with their racing snail and narcoleptic bat. They travel with the Rockbiter to the Ivory Tower. Teeny Weeny is a friendly man who believes that size doesn't matter, while the Nighthob has a grouchy attitude and believes a lot of people are nutcases.
- Carion: A servant of the Empress who gives Atreyu his quest and the Auryn.
- Morla the Ancient One: A giant turtle disguised as a large hill ("Shell Mountain") in the Swamps of Sadness. Morla, despite being rather selfish and cynical, gives Atreyu advice on his quest.
- Engywook and Urgl: A pair of gnomes who are Falkor's guardians. Engywook is a researcher on the Southern Oracle, while his wife is somewhat of a witch doctor, who makes odd brews for the ill. Their marriage is quarrelsome, and rather humorous.
- The Southern Oracle: An ancient oracle character who can only be reached by passing through its judgmental gates. It reveals how to save Fantasia to Atreyu before falling to pieces and dying.
- Mr. Bux: Bastian's widowed, workaholic father, who worries about Bastian's inattentive behaviour and frequent daydreaming.
- Bullies: Three cruel bullies who dislike Bastian and throw him in dumpsters. Their pursuits of him lead to his adventures. Bastian eventually takes revenge with the help of an amused Falkor.
[edit] Production notes
This film adaptation only covered the first half of the book. The majority of the movie was filmed in Germany, except for Barret Oliver's scenes, which were shot in Vancouver, BC, Canada. It was Germany's highest budgeted film of the time. The novel's author, Michael Ende, felt that this adaptation's content deviated so far from his book that he requested they either halt production or change the name; when they did neither, he sued them and subsequently lost the case.[1] He did succeed in having his name removed from the opening credits although his name does appear in the closing.
[edit] Music
Music for the movie was composed by Klaus Doldinger of the German jazz group Passport. The theme song to the American version of the film was composed by Giorgio Moroder with lyrics by Keith Forsey, and performed by Limahl, lead singer of Kajagoogoo. This song, along with other "techno-pop" treatments to the soundtrack are not present in the German version of the film, which features Doldinger's orchestra-only score exclusively.
The theme song performed by Limahl was released as a single in 1984, it peaked at #4 in the UK singles chart and at #6 in the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The American theme song has been covered by Fundanzo and the Wondermuffs, The Birthday Massacre, Creamy, Dragonland, New Found Glory and violinist/singer Omar Lopez. Norwegian synthpop group Echo Image covered the song on their 2001 maxi-single Skulk, and German techno group Scooter covered the song on their 2007 album Jumping All Over the World.
The American rock band Bayside have used quotes from the film as titles of their songs. Such examples include 'They look like strong hands' and 'They're not horses, they're unicorns'.
[edit] DVD
The Region 1 DVD was released in 2001, in North America and contains the American cut of the film only. The only audio option is a 2.0 stereo mix in either English or Spanish. The theatrical trailer is the lone extra-feature presented.
Europe has had a few releases of the film on DVD. The most lavish being a 2-disc special edition for the German market with packaging shaped like the book from the film and containing both the American and native German cuts of the film. Various extras such as a documentary, music video, and galleries are presented on the second disc. Unfortunately there is no English audio for the extended German cut of the film. This edition is now out of print. However, the standard 1-disc edition is still available for the Region 2 market.
A Dutch import has also appeared on the Internet in various places which contains the American cut of the film only, but does include a remastered DTS surround track which is not found in either the German or Region 1 release.
[edit] External links
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